OSAP Grants 2026-27: The New 25% Grant Limit Explained

A note before you read: Grantsights' own grant tools and reports cover United States funding only, so there's nothing to buy here and no account to create. This page explains OSAP from Ontario.ca, Canada.ca and the Province's published reports. If you'd use a Canadian version of our tools, tell us you're in Canada.

What Changed for OSAP Grants in 2026-27

The Government of Ontario's February 12, 2026 news release says students "will be eligible to receive a maximum of 25 per cent of their OSAP funding as grants and a minimum of 75 per cent of their funding as loans." The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario describes the same change as the maximum grant share falling from 85 per cent to 25 per cent.

The official sources word the scope slightly differently. The February release refers to "OSAP funding." Ontario.ca's Learn about OSAP page, updated June 18, 2026 and the newer of the two, says the changes apply to "the provincial portion of OSAP," take effect for programs starting on or after August 1, 2026, and mean that:

• students at publicly assisted colleges and universities in Ontario and Canada, and at private institutions in Ontario, get a larger share of their provincial OSAP as loans
• students at career colleges get all of their provincial OSAP as loans

Federal Canada Student Grants are a separate program run by the Government of Canada, and OSAP's 2026-27 maximums page still lists them at the same amounts. The release also let publicly assisted colleges and universities raise tuition by up to 2% a year for three years from fall 2026, and promised an enhanced Student Access Guarantee (SAG) so low-income students' extra costs are covered by their school.

Grants you already received don't convert because of this change. York University's OSAP FAQ says students funded for 2025-26, including the spring and summer 2026 term, stay under the 2025-26 rules for that funding. Either way, you have to reapply for OSAP every academic year.

How Much OSAP Is Worth in 2026-27

A single full-time student at an Ontario public college or university can get up to $530 a week in OSAP for 2026-27, up from $525 a week in 2025-26, according to the Government of Ontario's Maximum amounts of aid page. Those weekly figures are maximums for combined aid, and Ontario.ca notes you may get more than the amounts listed.

Ontario.ca, Maximum amounts of aid, updated August 12, 2026. The 2025-26 figures were $525 and $865.

The federal grants that come through the same application are listed separately:

Ontario.ca, Maximum amounts of aid. Part-time Canada Student Loan balances can't exceed $10,000 at any time.

Our guide to the Canada Student Grant covers the federal grants in more detail, including which provinces run their own systems. Micro-credential students follow different limits: up to $5,000 per study period for tuition, fees, books and equipment, plus an education allowance of $5 per study hour.

What you actually get depends on your costs, course load and family income. You'll see your estimate in your OSAP account once your application is processed, and the 2026-27 OSAP Aid Estimator (opens in a new tab) gives an early estimate of how much you could get before you apply. Using money from an RESP doesn't reduce your OSAP.

Grantsights Analysis of the Ontario Student Grant Cut

The Ontario Student Grant (OSG) made up 91.7% of the grants available to Ontario postsecondary students in 2025-26, according to the FAO's 2026 Spending Plan Review, so cutting it changes what most students receive. The FAO estimates that 59.0% of Ontario-resident postsecondary students received the OSG in 2025-26, and that the share will fall to 37.3% in 2026-27.

Grantsights analysis of the FAO's 2026 Spending Plan Review (opens in a new tab) of the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, figures 4.4 to 4.6. All figures are inflation-adjusted to 2026-27 dollars. The 2026-27 figures are FAO estimates, not actual payments.

The FAO projects a further slide to $2,192 per college recipient and $1,618 per university recipient by 2028-29, and the share of students receiving any OSG to 35.8%. A case in point is the private career college column: the average full-time student there received $13,249 in Ontario grants in 2025-26, and from 2026-27 that money comes entirely as Ontario loans. More broadly, a student who would have received several thousand dollars in Ontario grants for 2025-26 should expect most of that money to come as a repayable Ontario loan in 2026-27, sitting alongside the federal grant and loan.

Ontario students also make up the majority of Canada's federal student grant recipients. According to ESDC's Canada Student Financial Assistance Program Annual Report 2023 to 2024, 349,025 Ontario students received $1,467.6 million in Canada Student Grants that year, out of 586,021 recipients and $2,613.5 million nationally.

Grantsights analysis of the CSFA Program Annual Report 2023 to 2024, Figure 1. Averages are total grants divided by recipients. Quebec, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories don't take part in the federal program; they run their own systems with federal payments.

Ontario students also took 377,860 Canada Student Loans in 2023-24, up from 310,924 the year before, according to the same report. That's the latest federal year published; the 2026-27 changes won't show up in federal data for at least two years.

Who Qualifies and How to Apply

OSAP is open to Ontario residents of any age who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons, according to Ontario.ca's Learn about OSAP page. The 2026-27 full-time application adds that you must take at least 60% of a full course load (40% with a permanent or a persistent or prolonged disability), in a program at least 12 weeks long, at a school approved for OSAP. You can check any school in OSAP's approved schools search (opens in a new tab).

You may not qualify if you:

• don't meet academic progress requirements
• have enough money, including other government aid, to cover the costs OSAP allows
• report income that's significantly different from what you reported to the Canada Revenue Agency
• are in default on a student loan, or have grant overpayments or multiple loan overpayments
• have filed for bankruptcy or a consumer proposal
• have reached the lifetime limit of 340 weeks of funding (400 for doctoral studies, up to 520 for students with disabilities)
• are an international student or not an Ontario resident

To apply, register for an OSAP account with your SIN, complete the online information module if you're a first-time full-time applicant, and fill in the application with your school, program and tax information, plus your parents' or spouse's if they're part of your assessment. Ontario.ca's How to apply for OSAP (opens in a new tab) page says the application typically takes less than 15 minutes. If you're not sure which school you'll attend, submit an application for each one. First-time borrowers also sign a Master Student Financial Assistance Agreement with the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC).

Realistic timeline: it usually takes 4 to 6 weeks from the time you submit and all your documents arrive. Money normally comes in two instalments, the first at the start of your study period (usually September) and the rest halfway through (usually January), and only after your school confirms your enrolment. The hard deadline is 60 days before your study period ends for full-time students, but applying in late summer for a September start is the way to have money when tuition is due.

What Ontario.ca Doesn't Tell You About OSAP Grants

The official pages explain the rules one at a time. Put together, five points matter more than the headline amounts.

1. The 25% cap applies to Ontario's money, not your whole package. Ontario.ca's current wording limits the change to the provincial portion of OSAP, and the federal Canada Student Grant (up to $4,200 a year full time, per Canada.ca) comes on top. Don't read "25% grants" as a rule for your whole award. Check the grant and loan lines in your own OSAP estimate.

2. Your grant can still become a loan. Ontario.ca lists three triggers: withdrawing or dropping below the minimum course load in the first 30 days without returning full time within 5 months in the same academic year; a reassessment showing you weren't entitled to the grant (for example, dropped courses or unreported income); and family income that can't be verified within a year of starting school. A common mistake is dropping a course in September without telling the financial aid office. Avoid that: talk to them first, because a course-load change triggers a reassessment.

3. Unverified parental income is the quiet trap. If a parent or spouse doesn't file a Canadian tax return, perhaps because of foreign income, OSAP will ask for documents. If the income still can't be verified within a year, the Ontario Student Grant converts to a loan. Families with non-filing parents should gather documents early.

4. Career college students lose the most. The FAO estimates the average OSG per full-time private career college student was $13,249 in 2025-26 and will be $0 from 2026-27. These students also have the highest default rate (see below). If you're comparing a career college program with a public college diploma, compare the full borrowing cost, not just the program length.

5. You can ask for a funding review, but there's a deadline. If you face unexpected financial hardship, can't make your expected contribution, or have unusual parental circumstances, Ontario.ca says your financial aid office may be able to reassess your funding. The request must reach the office no later than 40 days before your study period ends. Many students underestimate how early that is in a short program.

What Happens When You Repay

The loan share matters more now, so it's worth knowing how OSAP repayment works before you accept. According to the Government of Ontario's Pay back OSAP (opens in a new tab) page:

• You have a six-month grace period after you graduate or leave full-time studies, but interest on the Ontario portion builds during that time and is added to your balance.
• The Ontario portion charges prime plus 1%. The federal portion has charged 0% interest since April 1, 2023.
• Payments follow a 9½-year schedule, which you can extend to 14½ years through your NSLSC account.
• You can extend the grace period by six more months if you own a new business in Ontario or work or volunteer with a not-for-profit.
• The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) can reduce your payment to zero if your gross monthly family income is under the threshold for your family size, and payments never exceed 20% of family income.

Ontario.ca, Pay back OSAP. You reapply to RAP every six months.

How do Ontario borrowers actually fare? The Ministry's 2023 OSAP default and RAP usage rates cover students who received a Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan in 2020-21:

Grantsights analysis of the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security's 2023 OSAP default rates and Repayment Assistance Plan usage rates (opens in a new tab), the latest published. These borrowers took out loans before the 2026-27 changes.

Roughly one Ontario borrower in five needed repayment help or defaulted within the measurement window, and the share was higher at colleges than universities. With a larger loan share from 2026-27, plan for repayment as part of choosing a program, and look up your own program's rates on the same Ministry page.

Extra Grants and Bursaries Outside the 25% Rule

OSAP also pays targeted grants and bursaries, several of which you're considered for automatically. These are listed on Ontario.ca's OSAP for under-represented learners (opens in a new tab) page:

• Students with disabilities: the Bursary for Students with Disabilities and the Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment, through one application, for disability-related services and equipment. You must self-identify as having a disability on your OSAP application.
• Indigenous students: the Indigenous Student Bursary for students with financial need at Ontario public colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes, plus band funding and the federal Post-Secondary Student Support Program for First Nations students.
• Youth in or from extended society care: the Living and Learning Grant, which pays above the regular full-time OSAP limits, and refunds of postsecondary application fees.
• First-generation students: the Ontario First Generation Bursary, if your parents didn't attend postsecondary studies.
• Health students: the Ontario Learn and Stay Grant covers tuition, books and fees for eligible nursing, paramedic and medical laboratory programs, but only if you then work in the same region for at least 180 days for every year funded. If you don't, it converts to a loan.
• Low-income students at public schools: the Student Access Guarantee, where your college or university may add a bursary, scholarship or work-study if OSAP doesn't cover your program costs.

If you get Ontario Works or ODSP, talk to your caseworker before school starts. Ontario.ca says ODSP income support can continue alongside OSAP, while a single full-time OSAP student isn't eligible for Ontario Works.

Students who need paid work alongside OSAP can look at employers hiring through Canada Summer Jobs, which subsidizes summer jobs for people aged 15 to 30.

Watch Out for OSAP and Student Loan Scams

Student aid involves your SIN and bank account, which makes it a target for impersonation scams. The Government of Ontario's Identify a scam or fraud (opens in a new tab) page says the Ontario government will never contact you directly to ask for personal information such as your SIN, bank account details or health information, and it warns about text messages with links that collect banking and personal details.

Red flags to watch for:

• a text or email with a link asking you to "verify" your OSAP account, SIN or banking details
• anyone offering to "get you more OSAP grant" or "forgive your loan" for a fee
• requests for payment by gift card, cryptocurrency or prepaid card
• pressure to act immediately or lose your funding

Log in only by typing osap.gov.on.ca or going through Ontario.ca, and change banking details only inside your own NSLSC or OSAP account. If you think you've been targeted, Ontario.ca's Report a scam or fraud (opens in a new tab) page explains who to tell.

Where to Go Next

If you're starting school this fall or in January and haven't applied, do it now through your OSAP account and check the grant and loan lines in your OSAP estimate. Ask your school's financial aid office about the Student Access Guarantee and school bursaries, because the shrinking Ontario grant makes them more important. For the federal side of your package, read our Canada Student Grant guide. Graduates planning to start a business can use OSAP's six-month grace extension and should also see our guides to Futurpreneur and startup funding in Canada and small business grants in Ontario. Art students moving into professional practice can read our Ontario Arts Council grants guide.

Sources Checked

All pages read on October 29, 2026.

• Government of Ontario, OSAP: Ontario Student Assistance Program (opens in a new tab)
• Government of Ontario, Learn about OSAP (opens in a new tab) (updated June 18, 2026)
• Government of Ontario, Maximum amounts of aid (opens in a new tab) (updated August 12, 2026)
• Government of Ontario, How to apply for OSAP (opens in a new tab) and After you apply for OSAP (opens in a new tab)
• Government of Ontario, Pay back OSAP (opens in a new tab)
• Government of Ontario, OSAP for under-represented learners (opens in a new tab) and Ontario Learn and Stay Grant (opens in a new tab)
• Government of Ontario news release, "Ontario Investing $6.4 Billion to Support Postsecondary Sector's Long-Term Success and Sustainability," February 12, 2026: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1007034/ontario-investing-64-billion-to-support-postsecondary-sectors-long-term-success-and-sustainability
• OSAP, 2026-27 OSAP Application for Full-Time Students (May 14, 2026)
• Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, 2023 OSAP Default Rates and Loan Repayment Measures (opens in a new tab)
• Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security: 2026 Spending Plan Review: https://fao-on.org/en/report/estimates-2026-mcures/
• Employment and Social Development Canada, Canada Student Financial Assistance Program annual report 2023 to 2024 (opens in a new tab)
• Government of Ontario, Identify a scam or fraud (opens in a new tab)